Typhoid fever is caused by a bacterium (germ) called Salmonella typhi. This bacterium may contaminate food or drink in areas of poor sanitation. Typhoid ranges from being a mild illness to causing death. Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, severe headache, nausea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, constipation or diarrhoea. These symptoms can be very severe.

People with typhoid fever pass out the bacteria with their faeces (motions). Even when symptoms have gone, about 1 in 10 people who have had typhoid fever remain carriers. This means that some bacteria continue to live inside the gut and you continue to pass out bacteria with your faeces. If hygiene is not good, then the bacteria can be passed to others who may then get typhoid fever. About half of carriers become free of the typhoid bacteria within three months, but up to half of carriers continue to pass out typhoid bacteria with their faces long-term.

The incubation period for the disease is usually 1-3 weeks. So, you do not get symptoms for 1-3 weeks after becoming infected. Around 200 cases are notified in the UK each year. About 8 in 10 of these cases are in people who caught the infection abroad. Typhoid infection can be successfully treated with ANTIBIOTICS